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Drooling and coughing, facial pain, any thoughts?

I'm at work about sick with worry right now, and I am wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.

Last night after I picked my little Flutie up from daycare, she seemed perfectly normal. A couple hours later, I noticed she was drooling. She NEVER drools. She was also hacking as if she was trying to cough up a piece of food. She has done this before, when she eats or drinks too quickly. This wasn't the case so I couldn't understand why she was doing it. The drool was so severe all night, she woke up with a big puddle around her face.

This morning when her dad and I were getting ready for work, instead of jumping off the bed, following us and barking at us to throw her toy, she just laid in the bed. She did not seem to want to eat or drink. Also, she would not let me touch her face. When I would try to touch her cheek or ear area, she shied away. She also raised her ears up like she was afraid.

No crying, nothing seems to be in pain, and I checked her gums and mouth, everything looked normal. I have a vet's appointment for this afternoon but I thought maybe somebody would have advice in the meantime? This seems to be one of the only forums where people don't scare others half to death with horrible diagnoses.

BTW, Flutie is 2, and has never been diagnosed with health problems. She only weighs 6 pounds, which, I know, is really tiny!

Go to Vet

Sorry to hear Flutie is not feeling well.

I have no idea what is causing Flutie to act this way, but it certainly sounds like you should take her to the vet. Small dogs can get dehydrated very easily, and if she is not drinking or eating, this is a real cause for concern.

Took Flutie to the vet yesterday. The doc said her heart and lungs were fine (my big worries). They think she may have eaten something bad the day before and that she might even have irritable bowel syndrome because whenever she eats something that isn't science diet she pretty much has a bad reaction - poor Flutie, she would be so embarassed if she knew I was posting this! They gave her a fluid and anti-nausea injection and a can of prescription wet food. When I opened the can of wet food Flutie went completely nuts and devoured her portion in about 2 seconds. She also drank her water. So, she seems to be doing just fine! She was energetic and barking to wake up everyone in our small Manhattan apartment building this morning as usual. I worry so much about her because she is SO SMALL!! The vet just said to keep a close eye on her and bring her back in if she isn't acting herself. Aren't these little dogs amazing?

Something like this happened to my Sydney. He was about 4 or 5 years old. We came home and his face sagged on one side and there was drool everywhere. We took him to the vet, and did not have a difinative answer, but we think he may have fallen off the couch and possibly hit his head. We kept close watch on him, and slowly the drooling stopped.

Hope Flutie is better.......we had something similar a few years ago with Leo. His whole muzzle swelled and he dribbled and shyed away from us. We are very sure he'd eaten a wasp or a bee!!! After some Piriton he was fine.....hope Flutie has a similar outcome.

By the way - I think my earlier response did not post. The vet believes that Flutie may have eaten something that disagreed with her. They gave her fluid and anti-nausea medicine. They also said it was possible that Flutie has irritable bowel syndrome. Poor baby!! However, she devoured the wet food they sent us home with, and played last night, and tried to wake up everyone in our tiny Manhattan apartment building by barking this morning, as she usually does. So, she seems to be back to normal. I think she has a verrrrrrry sensitive digestive system. Perhaps because she is so small?? Anyway, thanks for the comments, everyone on this board is so kind and obviously loves cavaliers very very much!! I will keep my eye on the little baby but I'm hoping it was just a matter of her eating something strange when she was out with her dogwalker -- who knows what they find on the sidewalks in New York City!!

By the way - I think my earlier response did not post. The vet believes that Flutie may have eaten something that disagreed with her. They gave her fluid and anti-nausea medicine. They also said it was possible that Flutie has irritable bowel syndrome. Poor baby!! However, she devoured the wet food they sent us home with, and played last night, and tried to wake up everyone in our tiny Manhattan apartment building by barking this morning, as she usually does. So, she seems to be back to normal. I think she has a verrrrrrry sensitive digestive system. Perhaps because she is so small?? Anyway, thanks for the comments, everyone on this board is so kind and obviously loves cavaliers very very much!! I will keep my eye on the little baby but I'm hoping it was just a matter of her eating something strange when she was out with her dogwalker -- who knows what they find on the sidewalks in New York City!!

That is great news. The fact that she started acting that way right after coming home from daycare was a sign that it might have been something she picked up at daycare. I would like to see her photos. Could you post a few?